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Off-colour Pink-necked Green-pigeons

on 10th December 2019

“As a teenager, I recalled the hordes of butterflies that used to flock to the wild Lantana bushes that overran my uncle’s estate. My cousin and I slashed away with machetes in a losing battle to keep the prickly plants at bay.

“When I started my own garden, I tried to cultivate Lantanas to attract butterflies. Unfortunately, the fancy varieties of Lantanas available from nurseries were anything but hardy. And in any case, fogging had exterminated practically all the butterflies in my neighbourhood.

Lantana camara (Photo: YC Wee).

“One day, I did find a wild Lantana. Bringing it home for careful cultivation, I soon had a Lantana hedge.

“Unlike cultivated varieties, wild Lantanas are not sterile. The flowers develop into berries, which attract birds. Watching them was some compensation, even though I was still short of butterflies.

Normal male Pink-necked Green-Pigeon (Photo: Lee Chiu San).

“Pink-necked Green Pigeons (Treron vernans, first photo) were frequent visitors.

Off-colour Pink-necked Green-Pigeon (Photo: Lee Chiu San).

“But recently, I noticed an off-colour addition. This bird was darker, and had very noticeable blotching on the dorsal surface. Of the four varieties of Green Pigeons native to Singapore, the one which sometimes displays dark blotching is the uncommon Cinnamon-Headed Green Pigeon (Treron fulvicollis), though usually not to such a marked extent as the birds shown in the above and below.

Off-colour Pink-necked Green-Pigeon (Photo: Lee Chiu San).

Would anyone like to hazard a guess at identifying this off-colour visitor?

Lee Chiu San
Singapore
29th November 2019

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

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